Cracked windshield with wiper blade heaters?

Your windshield number is an FW2489 GTN. Foreign Windshield #2489, Green Tint, No hardware.

These parts can be made at a variety of factories around the world. Suburu, like many manufacturers, contracts different companies at different times (pricing and quality contracts) to make your glass. The heater element is imbedded in the lamination between the two pieces of glass. Or sometimes is bonded to the surface of the glass.

I work for one of the largest manufacturers of auto glass in the world, seventeen years, and I have never heard of the heater element causing a break in the glass. Unless the outside temperature was well below zero and your heater could generate a extreme amount of heat within the space of a few seconds, then the possible result is just a stone chip that was previously not seen that the heater element just aggrivated and caused to 'run'. I have a very difficult time with the analysis of uneven/incomplete tempering.

The windshield (for that matter all the glass) in you car can be as much as

40% of the structural integrity of your car. That glass was made to handle stress from vibration, heat, cold, and even impacts from stones. But it is also glass. It will break. I've seen a person hit the side window of a car with a hammer and cause no damage at all. I had a large rock hit my windshield and saw a small pit taken from the glass. No other damage. I also saw a new car drive out of a mall parking lot and hit a bump. CRACK. Sometimes the stress from the movement, sometimes the impact of something hard. Sometimes a small unnoticed stone chip in the winter...

The one thing I will advise is that you should not EVER let you insurance company choose you place of repair/replacement. That is your choice. They will try to schedule and may even make comments like "we can't guarantee their work" or "they will charge you to much". That is a load of bull. They just have a deal where the replacement company of their choice charges them less, not you, just them. End of story. Some insurance carriers have their "glass claims" calls answered by the repair/replacement company directly. You may not even be calling you insurance company at all. Try asking them who they work for on the line, NOT who they are answering for, but who the person you are talking to works for. You may be in for a surprise.

Take a look at the DOT number on the logo of your glass. That is the actual address of the maker of your glass. Every plant in the world has its own DOT number if they are selling in the USA and no plant shares its number with another plant. Your glass might have been replaced already on the lot. It has happened. Vandalism, test drive stone chip, etc. You should shop around, check the guarantees. Ask these questions. Years experience of the installer that will work on you car. Certification. OEM glass? OEM adhesives? Your car manufacturer states that a certain adhesive must be used due to tensile strength, airbags, cure times, etc. Call the dealership and get that information and match it with what you find out. An improper installation can put your life at risk as well as cause serious damage to your car. Water leaks can cause rust and electrical damage not to mention taking away from the fore mentioned structural intregity of the vehicle. Your life, your choice.

appointment

Reply to
Archangel
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I know two people here locally whose windshield cracked when they turned on the wiper heater in very cold temps. I stopped using mine. Never had a crack. Could be coincidence.

Reply to
Mike Cook

Years ago I had to replace the w/s on my '82 GL due to sever pitting when caught in a sandstorm. The replacement went fine, but about 2 years later all the frame areas around the windshield began to rust and cancer real bad. I assumed it was due to a poor install, allowing excessive water in. Should this be a common concern or rather would one assume it was a poor install whereas most are not? ...2 years later it's hard to file a claim against a shoddy install for such a pricey repair job like that.

Reply to
Mike

If the wiper blades are frozen to the windshield, break the wipers free with your hands and not the wiper heater to avoid the glass cracking. After the wipers are running, then apply the wiper heater. After all the windshields are made of safety glass and not Pyrex glass. I believe the purpose of the wiper heater is to keep the wipers from freezing up while using the windshield washer in near or frezing weather so the blades can make contact with and thouroughly clean the windshield when they are operating and not in the static or at rest position.

If you want to see an exaggerated example of glass cracking, throw hot water on a frozen windshield and then see what happens! I doubt no one in their right mind would do this,........... but you get my point.

G

Mike Cook wrote:

Reply to
Guido

Poor install.

They installers may have scraped the urethane completely off the pinchweld and exposed the bare metal. A proper install does not remove all the urethane but leaves a thin layer and they then reapply a new urethane on top of the old one. If the metal is exposed they are supposed to use pinchweld primers to cover the exposed surface. If the surface is exposed then it can and will rust.

Also, if the incorrect molding or the old molding that goes around the windshield was used that may have been allowing water in. Pretty sure bet that the company that did the install charged your insurance company for a new molding. Not all retail shops use them. They just show a bill saying they bought it and then bill the insurance. Shortly later they return the unused molding for credit. Some of the moldings are very low priced, costing about $10 to $40 dollars each. Some cost over a hundred. Add it up. 5 to 8 windshields a day. 5 days a week. 52 weeks a year. Maybe 2 to 3 installers. Nice addition to the bottom line????

uneven/incomplete

installation

Reply to
Archangel

Archangle - Thanks for the comprehensive reply! Great to have an expert weigh-in - that's what I was hoping for! I don't believe the heater (embedded) caused the crack, but it certainly was the factor that accelerated it. I'll put a 'scope on the alledged origin and look for any kind of surface defect, but at 4X I couldn't see anything. Until I do, I suspect the defect is on the edge of the panel, directly below the "fork" that the dealer is calling the chip. If I could see the broken edge of the glass, I could tell the origin and direction of propagation for certain. My comment about the stress comes from the fact that now that some specific stress has been relieved, you can actually see what seems to be a distortion between the sections of glass on the two side of the crack, like there's a slight difference in the refraction - in the lower piece, what now passes through appears to be "wavy", but still clear above the crack (??)

I'll report back...

PS - You with Guardian by any chance...?

PPS - I'll have the dealer do the replacement so there should be no question about using the right materials and techniques. Allstate allows me to choose, but I'm not sure whether they will even be a factor - I have $250 ded. on my comp...

Reply to
Bruce Helms

Be careful about going to the dealership also. The dealer normally uses the company that is the most inexpensive. They do not do the work themselves. That may not be the case at your dealership but all the ones I know about do subcontract out their replacement work. Check who they use first and again do the background check on them.

Reply to
Archangel

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